The d.p. legend is back again with a masterwork of epic proportions. As is the case with the rest of his work, every frame here is heavily calculated and pored over, but it’s more readily apparent in this film than in others. It feels overtly artificial for a reason; Deakins, Villeneuve, and production designer Dennis Gassner are first working from a futuristic visual framework, then at key moments slowly introducing hidden depths and pinpoints of humanity into this bleak and foreboding environment. In this manner, the visual storytelling parallels K’s journey from blake slate through memories and towards the soul. There are several main canvasses that we see throughout: the sterile darkness of Los Angeles, the smoggy orange ruins of Las Vegas, and K himself. Deakins has an absolute field day filling those canvasses. Motivated source lighting (see: the lanterns in the Jesse James train sequence) is his forte, and you can see that he realized how much of a gold mine the city scenes are. It’s heightened artificiality. It’s a glorious collection of neon and fluorescent, with huge holograms and ship lights providing even more striking colors amidst the darkness. They all show up in some way during these scenes, illuminating the image in a way that allows Deakins to play with shadows and silhouettes. You’ll notice how mobile the shadows are, whether they’re peeling back to reveal or creeping forward to conceal. This certainly plays in tandem with the lights, which take on lives of their own as they shimmer within the frame.